Jealousy Wears a Green Mask
by starfishbeliever
Summary: When James asks another girl to the Halloween Masquerade, Lily ropes all of the marauders in on her plan to remind him why she's the one he really wants... even if it means making him jealous. Lily/James
1. Chapter 1

[a/n]: Hey! So this is more of a straight up Lily/James fic. It's going to be a short multichapter fic. As with all of my Lily/James, I'm trying to base my extras (Mary, Marlene, etc) off of names in cannon that _might_ really have gone to Hogwarts with Lily and James as concluded from excessive hours spent on the lexicon.

Disclaimer: I only own the plot and a few spares, all else is Rowling's

**Jealousy Wears a Green Mask**

It had been an average Sunday night in the Gryffindor common room. The first years had been playing gobstones in the corner. The second and third years were painting a large banner to support the quidditch team during the coming match while the fourth years supervised. The few fifth and sixth years that weren't cloistered in the library had been writing essays at the tables. Mary Macdonald sat with two Marauders in the big squishy sofas by the fire; Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew were planning a prank, Mary was pretending not to listen, focused intently on the latest issue of _Which Broomstick_ but making sure to throw her two cents into the conversation whenever she felt the boys were getting a little too crazy.

It was an average Sunday night until the portrait hole opened and Lily Evans and Remus Lupin stumbled in. They, along with James who had yet to return, had been at the weekly Prefects/Head Boy and Girl meeting, discussing the coming events. For a few minutes, nothing changed in the common room. Remus and Lily joined their friends beside the fire, Lily's face blank and expressionless; Remus's barely hidden smile betraying slight amusement.

"How was the meeting?" asked Mary, more out of politeness than out of real interest. Peter and Sirius had ceased discussion of their far more interesting; doomed to failure prank upon Lily's arrival. Even though Lily and the boys had formed an unlikely truce that had transformed into a far more unlikely friendship during their sixth year, they still seemed hesitant to discuss planned pranks around the Head Girl.

"Long," responded Remus with a stretch, "Lots of discussion about the Halloween Masquerade Ball. James is still in the meeting room, finalizing the band and stuff, he sent us back early. I think he was afraid that Lily was going to hex someone."

"Makes sense," Sirius shrugged, "You lot must be stressed, the dance is in only ten days and seven hours…"

Mary raised an eyebrow at the shaggy haired boy, smiling a little at his accuracy, "Frighteningly precise."

Remus and Peter exchanged a knowing look before Remus explained for his friend, "Sirius is highly devoted to costume parties."

"Ah," Mary nodded, "You boys made your costumes yet?"

Sirius sat up straight and held Mary's gaze with an intense one of his own, "Why, what have you heard?!" Mary couldn't help but giggle at the boy's antics.

Remus rolled his eyes beside the boy, "Actually, we're not quite done with the costumes… though I think that's on the back burner. Sirius and I are turning out to be the _only_ Gryffindor boys without dates."

"Makes sense… I guess. What do you think Lil?" she turned to the redhead, "You're being awfully quiet."

Lily seemed to shake herself out of a reverie, "I… need to hang some posters."

And _that_ is when everything in the serene room changed. After hanging two brightly colored posters on the noticeboard, Lily made to return to her seat, but then hesitated and turned, striding the length of the rug that lay in front of the fire before pausing at the other end, turning, and walking back. She did this twice more and then all the air left the room as those nearest realized what was happening.

Lily Evans was pacing.

At once, the fifth and sixth years rolled up their parchments and tossed half closed ink bottles into their bags, frantic with the sudden need to join their classmates in the library. The fourth years attacked the wet banner with their wands, drying what they could and sacrificing the rest. The third years stoppered their paint bottles and stored their brushes, casting terrified looks over their shoulder at the moving redhead. The first years had never before experienced what was coming, and as ignorant innocents, watched bemusedly from their corner as their housemates flew around in panic. It fell to the second years to get the young ones to safety, poking and dragging the eleven year olds up the stairs, promising explanations later if they would only _move_ _faster_.

And then, not three minutes after the initial length of carpet had been crossed, the common room was empty but for the three present marauders, Mary, and Lily.

Remus and Sirius exchanged anxious looks; Peter suddenly had a very pressing need to be somewhere else and bolted. Lily's pacing was possibly the most frightening thing in the castle. Despite the fact that nearly everyone adored the redhead on an average day, her temper and outbursts were positively… infamous, and, the ones that followed a good pace were always the most

Checking over his shoulder, Remus assured himself that there were no other potential casualties in the common room before asking quietly, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Lily responded, looking at Remus as if his question had surprised her, "Why would something be wrong?"

Sirius and Remus exchanged _another_ look while Mary was entirely focused on her best friend, mind whirring.

"You're pacing," Sirius pointed out in an attempt at a causal tone, "Last time I saw you pace was the Great April Debacle. Still don't know what that was _about_ mind you, but I know it was scary…"

And then, it all clicked for Mary.

"Boys," she said evenly, "Leave."

"Wha?!" Sirius turned to Mary in surprise, "We're being helpful."

Mary fixed him with one of her glares and Sirius sighed, "Fine, c'mon Moony, let's go pick the colors for Wednesday."

"Stay away from purple," Lily offered, not unkindly, "Outfit mishap pranks aren't nearly as funny when the target actually looks better after you've messed with their robes."

Remus laughed at the shocked look on Sirius's face and shepherded him up the stairs with an audible "Don't look so shocked Padfoot, you'll catch flies if you keep your mouth open for too long… besides, you know Lily knows everything… and even if she didn't, James tells her almost everything now anyway."

It was that last statement, drifting down the stairs into the common room that caused Lily to crack. She hurled herself down onto the couch the boys had vacated and scream long and hard into a pillow.

Mary waited for the dust to settle and the scream to subside, and then poked the redhead with her toe and asked "So, what's the matter Lils?"

Lily picked her head up from the pillow, "The dance," she groaned, "the stupid, stupid _dance_. I don't have a _date_ Mary!"ItwI

Mary froze, and then held in a chuckle. Lily _Evans_ was worried about getting a date? She was, in Mary's opinion, the only girl in Hogwarts who _always _had a date ready in the wings… if she ever realized that she might actually want to go with him.

"I don't know what you're all upset about Lily," Mary said carefully, "This whole dance was _your_ idea. You _did_ know that dances require dates, right? And you've turned down several boys… I figured you had a plan or something…"

In response, Lily just moaned, and threw her face back down into the pillow, "I _did_."

Mary raised an eyebrow, "Well, what happened then?"

Lily pulled herself up into a sitting position, clearly about to go into a serious rant.

"This dance," she sighed, "was going to be my way to… well… ugh it doesn't even _matter_ Mary, he asked someone else."

"Who!?" Mary demanded, unsure of what to think, but despite the indications that Lily longed to rant, the redhead didn't answer.

"You designed this entire dance just to get one boy to ask you out?" Mary realized, raising an eyebrow at her friend, impressed by the girl's ambition.

Lily nodded sadly, "I was even willing to ask him I think," she sighed, "If it came to it, I mean. There aren't any Hogsmeade visits anymore Mary, not since Voldemort and his slimy henchmen started getting serious. So, there aren't really any opportunities for guys to ask girls out."

Mary shrugged, "There's always quidditch games, though I guess that doesn't really work for me… being on the team and all. Half the matches we're playing in, and then the other half we watch as a team to strategize _about_ playing…" she trailed off, and upon seeing the look on Lily's face, gasped, "He's on a team too!"

Mary racked her brain, listing all the other House teams in her head, crossing off boy after boy. Too short, too tall, too young, he asked, she said no… until suddenly she was out of options. Unless of course, he was a _Gryffindor_… and then, it hit.

Mary started laughing, she couldn't help it.

"You, Lily Evans, _finally_ realized you have a thing for James Potter?" she gasped, and Lily, a little miffed by the way Mary was taking the news, nodded reluctantly.

"And, and, right when you finally realize it, he's all grown up and not pestering you for dates anymore!" Mary exploded and little by little, Lily started to see the irony too. And then she was laughing also, both girls sliding to the floor and giggling.

But then, somewhere in the middle, the situation stopped being so funny, and both girls' laughter came to an abrupt halt.

"James asked someone else to the dance?" Mary asked quietly, Lily's earlier words coming back to her.

"Yeah." To Mary's horror, she could see that Lily's eyes were over bright and slowly filling with tears. Lily Evans _never_ cried.

"That _prat!"_ Mary gasped.

"I _know_, right?!" Lily looked a little angry, "He spends all that time deflating his overlarged head, and then, the second I realize that hey, James, kinda adorable. And charming. And damn near perfect. Soon as I realize what he tried to get me to think for five years is true… he goes and asks out that stupid blonde Ravenclaw!"

Mary decided that it wasn't the time to point out that a stupid Ravenclaw was an oxymoron, instead asking, "Who?"

"Marlene McKinnon," Lily sighed, "And she's so sweet and kind that I can't even hate her." Mary couldn't help but agree, Marlene _was_ nice and sweet, and an excellent Seeker.

"But, this is _madness_!" Mary said slowly, "James has _always_ been crazy about you."

Lily shook her head, "Then _why_ would he ask Marlene, Mary? He actually _told_ me he'd asked her, and that he was 'so excited to be going to the masquerade with such a gorgeous girl.'" Lily added air quotes to the last bit.

"Hm…" Mary scratched her head.

"Hm what?" Lily demanded.

"Maybe," Mary said, cautious, because, while she was nearly certain she was right, she didn't want to crush Lily if she was wrong, "He's trying to make you jealous."

"What!?" Lily demanded again, more than a little outraged. If jealousy was James's plan, it was definitely working; Mary would have to give her quidditch captain serious points in the strategy department.

"No, seriously," Mary continued, "Maybe he _wanted_ to ask you but wasn't sure you knew you liked him."

"You say that like everyone else knows," Lily retorted, crossing her arms defensively.

"Only because they do," answered Mary promptly.

Lily could only glare in response, which Mary chose to ignore.

"Seriously Lily," Mary turned to look at her friend straight on, "What if he _is_ playing the jealousy card?"

Lily blinked, bit her lip and sat silent for a moment. A long moment. And then a smile emerged on her face. A slow, absolutely terrifying smile that hinted at unforgivable plots and terrifying schemes… And Mary felt better. _This_ was the Lily she recognized and loved.

"Then," Lily said slyly, "I'd say that two can play at _that_ game."

Mary beamed, "_Brilliant!"_ Even if she was wrong about James's motives, Mary was sure that him seeing Lily with another boy would knock him into place… the boy was doomed.

"The only question is," Lily bit her lip, "Who can I use?"

Mary paused, Lily had already rejected at least five of the eligible boys for this dance while she had been waiting for Potter to get his arse in gear. That limited her by quite a bit…

"No Slytherins," Lily had grabbed a piece of parchment and was writing down the names of all the boys in the seventh year, "No point punishing myself… even if they _would_ go with a muggleborn."

"What about sixth years?" offered Mary, noting that there were only two boys listed on that list who didn't have girlfriends.

"James is _hardly_ likely to be jealous of a sixth year," Lily pointed out, "He might've deflated a lot, but he's still arrogant enough to feel more important than a sixth year."

Mary bit her lip, "And you're too nice to _really_ use either of those boys," she sighed, "You'd be leading them on to the enth degree."

Lily nodded slowly, seeing a plan forming in Mary's eyes, "What do you suppose I do then Mary?"

Mary's eyes trailed over to the boy's staircase, a brilliant idea forming. It would require a bit of self-sacrifice, but what else were best friends for? And besides, it would give her a marvelous chance to play the jealousy card herself… all the while giving solid assurance that the boy Mary was after wouldn't be messing around with any other girls.

"What you need," Mary said with a sly smile of her own, the type of sly smile that reminded Lily why they were best friends, "is someone who can be _in_ on the plan but not betray the plan."

Lily nodded, thinking it through, "A boy who would be just as willing as I am to go through all the motions to get this to work, without really expecting me to fall in love with him."

"Someone who everyone, including James will acknowledge to be a lady-killer, someone who James won't be willing to beat up on the spot, but will provide a _definite_ worry to him."

Lily and Mary exchanged a clear, knowing look, "Someone close to James," Lily added, smiling, "Someone he'll have to worry about seeing me with everyday…"

Mary leaned in and stage-whispered "Someone who I'll bet has been eavesdropping on our conversation for the past five minutes at the very least," and as she spoke, her arm snapped out with a beater's speed and snagged at what appeared to be thin air. One quick tug however, and the air moved away, revealing an only slightly embarrassed looking boy.

"Best secret they ever let us in on," Lily smirked, brushing James's invisibility cloak with her fingers.

Mary nodded, "Try not to breathe so loud next time, and cut back on the cologne and you might just fool us," she added with a smile.

"So," Lily turned to the boy, "Are you willing to help me?"

"Alright! Alright!" Sirius Black threw his hands up as if he had fought a long battle and lost, though the wide beam on his face betrayed his inner excitement, "This will be my best prank ever."


	2. Chapter 2

[a/n]: Thank you so much for all the reviewer support! This chapter is written for my best friend who doesn't actually read fan fic but encourages me to write it anyway =P

**Jealousy Wears a Green Mask; Chapter 2**

Remus Lupin missed the days when breakfast had been an easy affair. Back when the marauders would plan pranks over toast, or discuss broomstick models and girls instead of Death Eaters and careers. Back when James was still chasing Lily like a really unwanted stray puppy. Back in the days when there had been raspberry jam. He _loved_ raspberry jam, but, alas, the house elves had taken it upon themselves to… forget the Gryffindor table's raspberry jam. This had been going on since the "End of Exams" party at the end of sixth year… After _far_ too many glasses of firewhiskey, Sirius had snuck off to the kitchens in search of something to sober himself up. What had transpired next, Remus had yet to find out, but the result was clear: the house elves were blacklisting Sirius. None of the boy's favorite foods would surface atop the table again, Remus was sure of it. And, as with many best friends, the two boys shared a favorite flavor of jam. Remus knew, deep down, that the lack of his favorite toast spread had little to do with the change in breakfast, but the coincidental link between the disappearance of raspberries and the sudden darkening of breakfast was simply too obvious to ignore.

So when Sirius Black, late as usual, slid into the available seat across from him, Remus glared at him.

"You just _had_ to upset the house elves, didn't you?" he grumbled, smearing his toast with what appeared to be grape jelly.

Sirius shrugged, and instead of answering Remus turned to James, "What's got your knickers in a twist, Prongsie?" he asked, tugging the entire serving platter of bacon towards him rather than just taking the polite amount.

James shrugged halfheartedly, "I think I might have made a mistake."

Peter nodded, "Yup, you probably did."

"You know what's going on, Wormtail?" James asked in surprise.

"No," the smaller boy shook his head, pouring himself some more juice, "I just know you."

Sirius guffawed at that, "Nice one Wormtail!" he managed through a mouthful of bacon.

"Alright Prongs, out with it," Remus sighed, giving up the (not raspberry) jam as a bad job and turning to stare down his friend, "What did you do?"

"I asked Marlene McKinnon to the dance," James said glumly, stirring his coffee as though he had no intention of ever drinking it.

There was a long pause as Remus exchanged a look with Peter. He attempted to catch Sirius's eye as well, but the other boy was completely and entirely focused on his bacon; odd, but not unusual behavior for the boy who acted more and more like his dog counterpart each day.

"You're an idiot," Peter informed James bluntly, "A right idiot. This is your first chance of the year to properly ask Evans out, and, since Dumbledore has ended Hogsmeade visits, it might have been the _only_ chance you're going to get this year, which is our last year you know… and you _blew it_."

"I know," groaned James, running his fingers through his hair and then cursing; he was pretty sure that Lily hated it when he did that.

"James," Remus said slowly, "Why in your right mind would you ask out _anyone_ other than the girl you're mad about? Do you _want _me to kill you? How am I supposed to put up with your long Lily-loving rants when I know you didn't even bother to ask her to the dance she's obviously only throwing so you'll ask her out!"

James glared back at Remus, "What do you mean she made up this dance so I'd ask her out?" he demanded sullenly.

Remus rolled his eyes, "She gave us all that big speech about how, since we can't have Hogsmeade visits anymore there isn't any real chance for romance at Hogwarts anymore, how there weren't any opportunities for guys to ask girls out anymore. She wasn't just talking about student morale James!"

"Lily Evans rejected me _every single time_ I asked her out in the past, can you _blame_ me for assuming her answer was going to be no again? We've finally reached some point of casual friendship; I wasn't going to mess it up by letting her break my heart guys!" James responded heatedly.

"But all those times were in the past! She rejected you between second and fifth year!" Remus pointed out.

"And that first half of sixth year," Sirius added, and upon seeing everyone's faces turn toward him, sheepishly continued, "You know, 'cause the asking out continued for a while, even if it was a lot more subdued…"

"That's when you decided to _grow up_," Remus reminded him, "_For Lily._ Did you honestly just throw all of that growth and effort and sweat and tears away!"

"What if," James said defensively, "I said that I actually had _feelings_ for McKinnon?"

"You don't," responded the three other boys almost immediately.

"Damn," James sighed, "You know me too well."

Sirius shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "So, why _did_ you ask McKinnon?"

James sighed again, "Trying to make Lily jealous."

The three boys groaned together, "Idiot," Peter muttered, "No _wonder_ she was all upset last night."

James blinked, "Lily was upset?"

"Pacing, actually," Remus responded, "Don't worry, everyone made it out alive… I think."

"Lily Evans was pacing over me in a _good_ way!" James gasped. He'd been the subject of Lily's paces several times in the past… but never like this.

"Don't get all excited James," Sirius's voice was dark, causing Remus to raise an eyebrow; it wasn't like Padfoot to be the bearer of bad tidings, "You seriously miscalculated this one."

"How so?" James asked, "It's working, isn't it?"

"Cause," Sirius sighed, "Yeah, she's upset right now. But, if Lily doesn't go to the bloody dance with you; then who _is _she going to go with?"

James blinked, "I don't…"

But Sirius cut him off, "She bloody well ain't going to go alone. You know Lily, she's all pride. She might've _wanted_ to go with you, but she's going to end up going with someone else."

Remus whistled, "Sirius is right James, not only did you possibly tick her off, she's also definitely not going to go alone… can you stand to see her with another guy?"

"Well…" James shrugged, "I mean…"

"What if she ends up, you know, falling for your replacement?" asked Peter pointedly.

James shook his head quickly, "That won't happen."

"It might," Remus acknowledged coolly. James's stupidity, on top of the lack of raspberry jam, was creating very unfavorable breakfast conditions.

"She could end up going with someone who isn't an idiot," Peter agreed, "You know, the type of guy who _doesn't_ think playing the jealousy card is a good idea."

"Not helping," James groaned, "I hadn't thought this one through…"

"Obviously not," Remus nodded, "She's going to walk in there with some guy, and, regardless of what he actually looks like, all you're going to see is someone who looks like the guys on the covers of those trashy romance novels Mary and Lily are always giggling over."

"Jealousy eyes," Peter agreed sagely, "He could be the dweebiest guy in the world but to you he's going to seem as attractive and threatening as…" Peter paused as he scanned the room for a suitable candidate, "as Sirius."

"Thanks, I think," Sirius replied.

For a long, long moment, the group was silent. They probably would have stayed that way till first bell if not for the arrival of a very sleepy looking Mary. Per custom, she squeezed herself between Peter and Sirius, who promptly slid his serving platter of bacon towards her. About a third of the once heaping plate remained, but then, Mary was late.

"Wotcher," she greeted glumly, "What's got you boys looking so cheery on this fair Monday?"

"James ruined his life," Remus responded quickly, eyeing Mary closely. As Lily's closest friend, she would certainly know if Lily was jealous or not.

"How did he manage it today?" Mary asked in a bland tone, eyes fixated on the goblet of orange juice she was pouring out for herself.

"He's going to the Halloween Masquerade Ball with Marlene McKinnon," Peter answered, barely concealing a smirk.

Mary looked up at James and nodded appreciatively, "Nice girl. What's wrong with going to the ball with her?"

Sirius laughed out loud, "Mary, if you don't know what's wrong with James asking McKinnon out, then you've _obviously_ been going to a different Hogwarts for the past seven years."

"I wonder if I can transfer to that alternate Hogwarts," Remus mused, but no one was listening.

Instead, Mary fixed suddenly sharp eyes on James, "If James wanted to go to the dance with Lily," she asked somewhat acidly, "then why didn't he _just ask her to the bloody dance!_"

Ah. That would be the tell Remus had been hoping for. Obviously, Lily wasn't pleased with James. Furthermore, Mary was obviously not thrilled with James for making Lily displeased. It was like the good old, raspberry jam days all over again. Remus smiled to himself a bit at the déjà vu moment.

"I don't have to take this," muttered James, "I don't have to –"

Sirius interceded before James could leave, turning to Mary and continuing to bring her up, a conspiratorial gleam in his eyes, "We've been talking most recently about how Lily will have to go to the dance with someone else…"

Mary choked on the mouthful of bacon, and once her coughing had subsided she managed to wheeze, "Oh, really now?"

James groaned, "If only there were some way to make her jealous, and yet also not have her go to the dance with a threat… wait…" he turned to Remus with a flicker of hope in his eyes. Sirius, seeing where things were headed and, knowing more than James or Remus, started laughing to himself, ignoring Mary's frequent jabs to his stomach.

"What…?" Remus raised both eyebrows in apprehension.

"Remus, you take Lily." James's eyes were deep with need and desperation… it was the most pitiful thing Remus had seen in years.

"What?" he cried, shocked into noise despite the puppy dog eyes.

James leaned forward, rambling in his haste to explain, "You're one of my best mates, and you're one of her best mates, if you ask she'll say yes, and you're not going to make any moves on her. You haven't mentioned wanting to ask anyone else… So why not?"

"Uh…" Remus thought fast, trying to think of a clever way to get out of it… though James's plan actually did sound pretty smart for once. Then Remus caught Mary's eye and she shook her head slightly, she raised one eyebrow, tapped her throat casually with her hand, then gliding her fingers through a slight wave. Remus got the message clearly, Mary had a plan, and he had _always_ had a bit more faith in her plans than in James's.

She coughed politely, "James," she said sweetly, ignoring the laughter still emitting from Sirius beside her, "that would be a lovely plan… only… Remus is taking _me_ to the dance."

And at once, Sirius's chuckles turned into coughs of surprise. James's eyebrows shot up into his hairline as his gaze darted between Sirius and Mary and Remus.

"_What_?" demanded Sirius once he had regained some element of composure. Remus couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the sight of him. He wasn't entirely sure where Mary was going with this, but if the end result left Sirius looking like he'd just been trampled by a hippogriff… well, Remus was always game for making Sirius look foolish.

"Yes," Mary responded calmly, finishing the last of the bacon, "Remus and I are going to the ball together, I'm sorry James."

"It's… alright." But James wasn't entirely sure based on the look on Sirius's face that it was, in fact, alright.

"And James," Mary leaned over, speaking gently; "I think Lily might already have a date."

"Right," James blinked, "Think I might go drown myself in the lake." He climbed off the bench and dusted off some crumbs.

"I think I'll join you, mate," Sirius rose as well, all laughter completely gone from his face.

"Don't take too long and be late to Transfiguration!" Mary called after the pair as they headed towards the double doors, "McGonagall near bouts has kittens when her precious Head Boy and his delinquent sidekick stroll in late!"

Remus waited until the boys were completely out of sight before gently kicking Mary beneath the table, "Since when are we going to the dance together?" he asked calmly.

Mary rolled her eyes, "It is all a part of a multistep plan that I'll fill you in on in a moment. But, you _didn't_ have anyone you actually wanted to ask… right?" she suddenly looked nervous and a little guilty.

Remus laughed, "I wanted to go with Marlene McKinnon ironically enough…"

Mary winced, "Ouch. I guess James didn't know?"

Remus shook his head, "Nah, I only mentioned it to Peter here in passing once. James never would have asked her if he had known that I wanted to."

"James is loyal to a fault," Peter agreed.

"So, what _is_ going on?" Remus asked, he hated being out of the loop. It was impossible to prevent stupidity if he didn't know what his friends were planning.

Mary smirked that scary smirk Remus was more used to seeing on Sirius's face.

"Oh my dear Remus, what a tale I have for you…" Mary's wicked laugh almost masked the sound of a bell going off somewhere within the castle.

"Oh bollocks!" she grimaced, "Looks like _Lily_ will be the Head student late to class for once. I swear that girl could sleep through anything."

"You were talking about a tale of intrigue?" Remus reminded her gently as the group gathered up their bags and moved towards the doors.

Mary's worried look reverted to her wicked smile so fast, Remus was momentarily concerned about whiplash.

"Oh yes indeed…" and as the threesome walked to class, Mary hurriedly explained the basics of her brilliant scheme.

Peter, being completely blown away by the sheer magnitude of the plot, decided it would be best if he didn't speak. Instead, he slid into his seat behind Remus and Mary in the Transfiguration classroom. Remus however, _had _to ask at least one question, if only to feel involved.

"Sounds genius," he said, a little bit frightened by Lily's audacity, "But, I'm still a little confused by why _we're _going to the dance together. No offense Mary, you're a lovely girl, but there's nothing even a little romantic between us…"

Mary laughed, and checking the door to be sure that James and Sirius were, as usual, late, answered coyly, "Who says James and Lily are the only ones who can work the jealousy card? After seeing how effective it was, I just couldn't resist giving it a go myself. And it got you out of a sticky situation at breakfast, did it not?"

Remus would have answered with something along the lines of 'Well any plan that ends with James and Sirius both happy but looking foolish is fine by me," but then James and Sirius were hurtling through the door, James dripping wet and Sirius looking sullen. They took their usual seats in the third row, right near the door.

"Potter," Professor McGonagall seemed torn between amusement and irritation as she entered the room behind the pair, "Why are you dripping on my floor?"

"Tried to drown myself, Professor," James answered promptly. McGonagall's face did not show any reaction aside from the twitch of an eyebrow; she was far too used to the marauders to be surprised by such things.

"And you, Black, I suppose you played the triumphant hero and rescued Mr. Potter?"

Sirius shook his head, "No, Professor. I stood on the shore and laughed at him."

McGonagall nodded, "As you should have. Now, boys, tell me, where is Miss Evans?"

"Here, Professor," Lily panted, hurtling through the door, "Sorry I'm late; I got caught up in preparations for the dance…"

"Very well," McGonagall nodded, "Take your seat."

Lily slipped into the empty seat beside James as the professor returned to the front of the class to start the lecture.

"James," Lily whispered, "_Why_ are you dripping wet?"

"No reason," he whispered back.

"Tried to drown himself," Sirius corrected.

Lily rolled her eyes, "You boys…" she muttered, casting a drying spell.

"Oh." Sirius and James exchanged a look; neither of them had considered a drying spell.

"Mr. Potter!" McGonagall called, "Kindly come up here and demonstrate how to transfigure a cat into a mouse."

James nodded, and walked back to the front of the class. As soon as he was busy transfiguring and explaining, Lily leaned over and tapped Sirius on the shoulder.

"I need a favor," she hissed, eyes flicking between her co-conspirator and James.

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "Another one? You're already asking a lot of me Evans." He was only half joking.

Lily nodded, "It'll involve breaking lots of rules," she promised.

"You know me far too well," Sirius sighed, stretching his arms out above his head, "What do you need?"

"I need you to break Mary and me out of the castle."

[a/n]: aha! Kind of a cliffy I suppose, but not one nearly as dramatic as the stereotypical cliffhanger. Thanks so much for all the reviewer support, it means a ton! You guys are awesome, keep it up!


	3. Chapter 3

[a/n]: I'm inferring from the fact that Snape's Slytherin/future death eater friends used to pick on Mary that she is a muggleborn. It's not really an important detail, but if I'm wrong, that's my basis. Sorry this took soooo long guys, decided that it didn't want to let me upload files... I'm working through tricks to get this up now... hope it works! =P

**Jealousy Wears a Green Mask; Chapter 3**

"You girls _so_ owe me." It wasn't Sirius's first complaint of the day, and it was hardly likely to be the last. He was positioned on a very unmanly poof, surrounded by sparkly mirrors. The carpet was plush and purple, and he sat opposite a pair dressing rooms whose curtains resembled tapestries, both displaying dancing fairies.

"We know." Lily sounded exasperated and muffled from behind one of the ghastly curtains.

"I'm breaking more than a few rules for you girls," Sirius continued in a suffering tone.

"Since when do _you _have any issue breaking rules?" Mary's voice came from behind the other curtain.

"I'm not talking about _school_ rules," Sirius rolled his eyes, though the effect was lost on the girls.

"He's talking about _lady _rules," Remus walked into the room carrying a bag bursting with chocolates and candies. Bribery had been the only way Sirius could convince Remus to join the expedition; there was _no_ way he would be the only man in a store filled with poofs and pink.

"Lady rules?" Mary stuck her head around the curtain, eyes dancing, "Pray tell, Remus, what is this _lady_ rule that Sirius is violating?"

"_Never_ take a girl shopping, they'll make you carry things and it's _far_ too close to the friend zone," Remus's tone was serious but his eyes were laughing. Sirius glared at him from his poof. Sirius Black had always been proud of his abilities as a self-proclaimed ladies' man and Remus was killing his edge.

Lily's laugh came from behind her own curtain, "You didn't _have_ to come into Gladrags with us Sirius; you could have left. Remus did."

"And _you_ could have owl-ordered a costume and prevented this whole ordeal," Sirius retorted, shaking his head as he continued, "Nope, Remus only left to get chocolate. We snuck you out, you're _our_ responsibility."

"James would skin us if you got in any danger," Remus agreed, ripping open a chocolate bar and breaking off a slab for Sirius.

"We could take care of ourselves fine you know," Mary pulled herself back into the dressing room.

Remus and Sirius exchanged a horrified look. "Two girls against a hoard of Death Eaters?" Sirius asked, "Even if you two do kick their arses, James would _still_ skin me."

"James is probably going to skin you anyway," Remus pointed out contentedly. Sirius shuddered a bit, not really able to deny Remus's claim. He was definitely _not_ looking forward to James's reaction, but so long as it all worked out, it would be totally worth it… or at least, that's what Sirius kept telling himself.

"Alright guys," Mary's voice came eerily from apparent nowhere, "I'm ready!" And she pushed open her curtain with an emphatic gesture.

"You're not wearing a costume!" Sirius gaped, "All that time and you didn't even _change_?"

Mary laughed, "I tried on three costumes Sirius, I picked the best one and now I'm back in my street robes."

Sirius shook his head, "No! I refuse to sit here for _hours_ and not even see what you're buying!"

Remus leaned back against the pink wall and watched the pair squabble, glad he already had snacks.

"If you weren't going to _show_ me your costume, why am I even here?" Sirius demanded.

Mary glared, "To stomp your feet and whine like a baby I suppose!"

"Guys?" Lily's voice was quiet but firm, "Can we focus on me for a minute?"

For a moment the three in the waiting lounge were silent as they took in Lily's outfit, but then Mary broke into a grin.

"And _that_," she said, gesturing at her friend, "is why we can't just 'owl order' things."

Sirius nodded, "Our little Jamesie is going to wet himself when he sees you."

Lily tried to cover a smile, smoothing down the skirt with her hand, "You think so?"

"It's just missing a mask," Mary nodded, "It's not a masquerade without a mask," She tossed her bag down on the ground between Remus and Sirius, "Watch that," she told them, "I saw one up front that'll be _perfect_."

As Mary walked out of the lounge, Sirius dove into her dressing room, intent on figuring out what her costume was going to be. He emerged holding out three brightly colored garments.

"Lily," he pleaded, "a hint?"

She just laughed, "Sorry Sirius, but if Mary doesn't want you to know, I'm not telling. Now, what should I do with my hair?"

"Up," Sirius replied, at the same time that Remus said "Down." The pair turned to glare at each other.

When Mary returned from an unnecessarily long hunt for the mask she could have sworn was sitting prominently on the counter earlier, she found Lily bent double with laughter while Remus and Sirius both pointed their wands at her head. The girl's auburn locks were bizarrely dressed; one half of her hair seemed to be attempting a bun, while the other half was curling erratically and brushing her shoulders.

"What the devil are you _doing?_" Mary gasped, unsure whether or not to be amused or disturbed.

Remus and Sirius, who had previously been arguing loudly, paused and turned to Mary and, unless she was very much mistaken, Sirius had begun to blush.

"Uh… see…" Sirius shifted uneasily, "We're arguing about how Lils should do her hair."

Mary blinked, and Lily managed to catch her breath.

"Apparently the Marauders want a say in _everything_ I do for this dance," she informed Mary, laughter still dancing in her eyes.

Sirius looked affronted, "Of _course_ we get a say in everything Evans; how else can we guarantee success?"

"This prank _does_ have a lot riding on it," acknowledged Remus thoughtfully, "More than the Christmas extravaganza even."

Lily and Mary both rolled their eyes at the memory and Mary held out the mask she had grabbed from the front room.

"It's green!" Lily gasped, sliding it on and tying it behind her head.

Mary nodded as if Lily was very simple, "It goes with your eyes. They're also green."

Remus smiled, "You look great, Lily. Now go change and pay so we can leave. I'll take Padfoot outside while you girls get ready."

Not thirty minutes later, the four were climbing through the shrieking shack's passageway back onto Hogwarts grounds. Sirius was still trying to get into Mary's shopping bags, and Lily was still trying to untangle the mess the boys had made from her hair.

The group crept carefully up the front steps, making sure all traces of Hogsmeade were stashed in backpacks and pockets, checking the entrance hall for the caretaker and then darted into the great hall.

"_Excellent_," Sirius beamed, leading the way down the long table to where a morose looking James sat, "Dinner!"

"Where've you lot been?" James looked up as the group approached, "We had quidditch practice!"

Mary and Sirius looked at each other.

"Oops?" Mary offered, not really sure what else to say; she knew Lily didn't want James to know just how much effort she was putting into this whole ordeal.

"Sorry James," Lily said airily, sliding into the empty spot beside him, "I needed Mary's input on my costume for the ball."

"And that took _all_ afternoon?" he asked, doubt heavy in his voice.

"Every stitch counts!" Mary replied with forced cheerfulness.

"And you, Sirius," James turned to his friend, "I suppose you were essential in Lily's outfit choice as well?"

Lily nodded emphatically, "Sirius has quite the future as a hair " Remus snorted on his pumpkin juice.

After that, dinner was a subdued affair. Peter stumbled in even later than Lily, covered with slime and moss and absolutely refusing to discuss the hour's detention he had just endured with Slughorn.

Mary and Lily retreated before the boys. Lily wanted to get some homework done before rounds that night, and Mary wanted to get her costume out of her backpack and into her closet before the ever curious Sirius managed to sneak a peak.

As soon as James was sure the girls were gone, he whirled on his friends. "What the bloody hell?"

Peter, who was still ignorant of what had been going on, looked between James's glare, Sirius's guilty face and Remus's amused eyes and assumed the worst. "It was Lily's idea!" he shouted, slamming his spoon down on the table.

"What was?" James shouted back, and Peter realized that he might have miscalculated. James probably hadn't _already_ figured out that Lily was taking Sirius to the dance in an attempt to make him jealous.

"Oh…" Peter turned to Remus, who, after rolling his eyes and reluctantly putting down his goblet of pumpkin juice, swooped in to save the day.

"It was Lily's idea to get a guy's opinion on the stupid dress," Remus sighed.

James blinked, "Why didn't she ask me then? We're still friends at least, aren't we?"

Sirius shrugged, "I suspect she felt awkward asking you for advice on what to wear on a date with another guy. In any case," he sighed, standing and brushing off his knees, "I'd best get going. I haven't even _looked_ at that essay McGonagall assigned us, and I know Mary was planning on starting it tonight…"

Remus and James both stared after their friend as he left.

"Sirius is actually doing an essay _ahead_ of time!" Remus gasped, "Where was Mary during the OWLs?"

"Shouting at him from the other side of the common room," Peter reminded them calmly, "that was when he died her hair purple."

"Who's Lily going to the ball with?" James asked, but Remus and Peter ignored him. They ignored him again when he asked what she was wearing. They ignored him a third time when he threatened to jump off the staircase they were climbing if they didn't talk. Remus and Peter successfully ignored James all the way back up to the Gryffindor common room, by which point they were quite ready to forget magic and use their wands as shanks just to make him shut up.

Luckily for all involved, James shut up on his own upon entering the common room; Lily was there. Grunting angrily, James slid into the empty armchair beside hers as Remus and Peter bolted for the stairs.

"Hullo James," Lily smiled over at him, "Started Transfiguration yet?"

James's anger melted a bit, "Not yet… have you started Charms?"

Lily laughed, "Nope. What with all the dance preparations I've barely had time to _go_ to class, let alone do outside work."

James groaned in response; "I know what you mean."

"Any luck with the band?" she asked kindly.

"None," James glared at the blank parchment that was (eventually) going to be his Transfiguration (or maybe Charms) essay, "I mean, we have _a_ band, but it's not very good."

"We could always ask— " Lily barely got half a sentence out before James cut her brutally off.

"_No_," he said emphatically, knowing who Lily was going to suggest.

"Fine," she harrumphed in a rather cute fashion, crossing something out on the page that (very obviously was) her Transfiguration essay. "They _are_ good you know," she noted after a minute, and James glared over at her. He'd finally managed to write his name on the paper _and_ the date… he should've known she wouldn't have given in that easily.

"Sorry," Lily added quickly after seeing the look on his face, "Just keep writing your essay… Forget I even said anything."

"They're just so _weird_ Lily," James groaned.

She laughed, "That's probably why they're calling themselves the 'Weird Sisters,' James. Who knows, someday they might make it big and we'll be able to say we heard them before they were famous."

"Fat chance," James snorted. And that ended the band debate for the night. Instead they sat, side by side, in the common room for the next two hours. Lily finished her Transfiguration essay and plowed on through her Charms essay. James and Lily clearly had very different effects on one another. Lily knew that, if she were to break focus for even a moment, in the quiet common room, she was _far_ too likely to embarrass herself with James, whereas James was simply unable to concentrate with Lily sitting so close but yet so, so _far_.

The two hours passed slowly or quickly, depending on who you asked, and when ten o'clock rolled around, Lily corked her ink and turned to James, "We'd best start the rounds."

Rounds with James varied between being Lily's favorite and least favorite part of Head Duties. Of course, they _could _have designed the schedule so that they were paired with prefects, rather than each other, but they _were_ supposed to be friends after all. Some nights, rounds were beyond lovely. They would laugh, joke, tell stories and chase each other down the hallways. Sometimes James and Lily would quickly walk the halls, and then spend the rest of the hour they were supposed to be patrolling in the kitchen with steaming mugs of hot cocoa, using the map to keep an eye on the students. Those late nights in the kitchens were Lily's favorite patrols.

Of course, not every night ended with marshmallow fights in the kitchen. There were those nights when one or both of the pair started out grumpy. The nights when they didn't talk and completely overreacted to every little miscreant they found running amok in the halls. Those were the nights that made Lily wish she _could_ have partnered with Remus and made James wish that he _hadn't_ been picked as the dark horse Head Boy.

As the pair left the common room that night, it started to seem to Lily as if it was going to be one of the latter. Neither one of them said much as they walked around the floors. There were no miscreants to chase or messes to clean up, but James did not suggest a jaunt down to the kitchens, and Lily wasn't really sure that she would have wanted to go anyway. Even though she had a plan in motion, and was pretty hopeful that she could win James back, she was still a little more than two-thirds hurt that he would ask anyone else to the dance. Why had he asked Marlene, really? She was pretty sure that she wouldn't be able to keep from asking the question if they were in that safe, warm kitchen, and while one possible answer would be the best thing to ever happen to her, the other… would be soul crushing.

James couldn't help but wonder what Lily was thinking about as they walked the halls. He usually liked (_really_ liked) doing rounds with Lily. Of course there were some nights that he couldn't wait to get back to the peace and quiet of the common room, but when you do rounds every other night with the same person for two months… well there are bound to be nights when you simply want to strangle them. He liked rounds though. The nights where he would persuade her to hang in the kitchen were always good, but, even better were the nights when they would round a darkened corner and hear a loud crash or bang (usually Peeves or some inexperienced prankster… or occasionally Sirius), and Lily, who would never admit that she found the dark castle eerie would jump, and for just a few seconds it would be… proper, polite, appropriate for James to grab her and hold her. It was never so dark that James couldn't see the faint blush and hint of a smile on her face when she realized just how close they were standing and how very nice his muscles felt around her waist.

"Lily," James started, after near half an hour of silence, he couldn't help but wonder why they had been able to talk when they had been isolated in a room full of people, but now that they were actually alone, words were lost. All he could think about was the stupid masquerade, and how she was going to be walking in on the arm of someone so attractive and perfect that Remus wasn't even willing to divulge his name. James supposed it was _possible_ that Lily was thinking the same thing, only about himself and Marlene, but… he couldn't ask her. What if she had only been annoyed that James hadn't asked her to the dance because she assumed that he would and hadn't wanted to go to the trouble of finding a meaningful date? It was plausible, this _would _be the first time James had ever had the opportunity to ask her out and hadn't took it… even during the early sixth-year days of their friendship he had never passed up an opportunity to ask her out.

"James," Lily looked over at the boy, "You were saying something?" And James realized that he must have trailed off without speaking.

"Uh," he shook his head, trying to clear the fog. Without thinking he ran his fingers through his hair, and halfway through the motion he realized what he was doing. He cursed and pulled his hand from his hair and glared down at it. Across the corridor, Lily giggled.

"What's so funny?" he demanded gruffly, shoving his hand into his pocket.

Lily raised an eyebrow, "You were glaring at your hand," she reminded him with a smirk.

He turned his glare on her, which only made her giggle more.

"What'd your poor hand do to _you_?" she asked, still smirking.

James focused his gaze on his feet and started walking down the hall, towards the common room, as he answered "It ruffled my hair."

Lily snorted, "You do that all the time anyway."

"Do not."

"Do so."

"Not since sixth year," James glared, _how_ had she not noticed, "Not since you told me it bothered you."

Lily didn't answer, but her hand snagged James's shoulder, pulling him to a stop. Gently Lily tugged him so he was facing her, and then rose to her tiptoes so their eyes were almost level.

"It only bothers me," she half-whispered, wondering where her own daring was coming from, "because I always want to fix it." And one shaky hand reached up and brushed the hair out of James's eyes, and then threaded through his hair.

"Lily," James couldn't believe it, Lily Evans was coming onto him.

"Why are you taking Marlene McKinnon to the dance?" Lily couldn't hold it in, though she tried. She had to know, and surely James wouldn't let her stand here like this if he didn't…

"She's pretty," James answered automatically. It was the answer he had been giving everyone when they asked, it was the automatic answer. It was only after the words had been said and Lily's hand dropped from his hair as if stung that he realized that Lily Evans probably should have heard the truth, not the lie.

"Oh!" she stepped away, looking as if she had been slapped, "Right then."

"No! I mean, I'm not!" James struggled to find the words, "It's not just because she's pretty!"

Lily stared at him, how _could_ he be so insensitive. It had been better when he made it sound as if he was only going with McKinnon because she was a knockout, now he was implying that he actually had _feelings_ for the girl.

"It's fine James," she said curtly, moving quickly away from him, "Please _save_ me the details of your romance. I have work to do. And a very important costume to fine-tune. Can't have my date disappointed, he's so… right for me… I'll… I'll see you around James."

Lily Evans had never run away from someone before. If cornered by a large group of Slytherins, she wouldn't leave until they were all down. If teased on the elementary school playground, she would kick and punch until the teachers pulled her away from her assailant. James Potter was the first man she had ever run from.

"Aw crap…" James smacked himself on the forehead and then kicked the wall for good measure. The suit of armor leaning against it turned towards him and James was sure that, if a suit of armor could look disgusted, this one did.

He walked slowly back to the portrait hole, and was unsurprised to see the Fat Lady standing with her arms crossed; she had always been very fond of Lily.

Upon spying James, the Fat Lady groaned, "Oh for goodness sake, _please_ tell me you're not the one who sent Miss Evans into a tizzy?"

When James didn't answer, she scowled, "You _need_ to get your act together boy! If you don't pull this off by the end of the year I'm going to owe Vi more galleons than I have! Now I don't know what you did tonight, but I suggest you go in there and _fix it_!"

James sighed, "I can almost guarantee that you will not be the only person to be mad at me over this… though really, no one could possibly be madder at James Potter than I am."


	4. Chapter 4

**[a/n:] **Oh my. This is a bit late, isn't it? I'm so sorry readers, I _hate_ it when authors go for weeks and weeks without updating, and now I've gone and done that same thing to you. Forgive me? My summer job was a bit more… hectic than I expected, cutting my writing time down to nothing. But here you go, a chapter!

**Jealousy Wears a Green Mask; Chapter 4**

"Your room is honestly the most disgusting place…" Mary informed Sirius for what felt like the five hundredth and fifty second time since they had escaped up there an hour prior.

Sirius glared over at her, they were sitting on opposite ends of his bed, piles of books and parchment between them. "You're the one who got us kicked out of the library," he said pointedly.

She looked up from her essay and shook her head, "Did not! _You're_ the one who thought it would be funny to make all of the colored inks in the library explode in rainbow order!"

Sirius smirked, "Who would have thought purple was such a popular color?" Mary had no good response to that; she too had been rather amused by the river of purple that had poured from the previously intimidating Slytherin quidditch captain's bag.

"Truce?" she offered, and Sirius nodded and leaned over for a long and cumbersome secret handshake.

For another five or so minutes they managed to work in silence; Mary marveling at Sirius's odd dedication to actually doing work, and Sirius doodling pictures of tap-dancing mice on the page that was supposed to be his Transfiguration essay.

"I wonder how Prongsie is faring," Sirius mused, giving his fourth mouse a cane and a hat.

Mary snorted, "Miserably."

Sirius sighed, "I'd like to fervently deny that claim and insist that any friend of mine must have at least some small ounce of charm… but Prongs keeps proving me wrong whenever I defend him, so I've given up. He just didn't pick up my knack for dealing with the ladies."

"Cause you're _such_ a lady killer," Mary snorted, but upon seeing the challenging look on Sirius's face, decided it was best to _not_ pursue the matter further. It probably wouldn't do to try to convince the boy she really wanted to be with that he wasn't any good at getting girls.

"Yes, I _am_," Sirius responded defiantly, "but Prongs… isn't."

"There is something we can agree on," Mary laughed, "Poor Lil. She finally wakes up to her own feelings just as James manages to convince the world that he's over his. You know she organized this whole dance just so he could ask her out?"

"No!" Sirius gasped; tap dancing mice and fake essays forgotten, as he leaned forward "Really?"

Mary nodded eagerly, pleased to have someone listening who liked gossip as much as she did, "Yeah! And then the dumb idiot goes and blows it all by asking another girl out!"

Sirius was pretty sure Mary was insulting James in a loving manner, but he had to at least attempt to defend his dingbat of a best friend, "I mean," he attempted, "He did ask Marlene out in an attempt to win Lily."

Mary blinked and Sirius laughed, "Okay," he admitted, "It does sound really stupid."

Putting down her quill again, Mary reached over to awkwardly pat Sirius on the shoulder, "S'okay, Lily will knock some sense into James in the end."

"Poor Marlene," Sirius sighed, "Has anyone bothered to think about her?"

Mary laughed, "Of course I have. Remus will swoop in and save the day the second James deserts her."

Sirius blinked and then turned his gaze away from Mary, over towards the neatly made bed that clearly belonged to Remus. "But Remus is _your_ date," he said in the gruff mumbling tone of a child who had been denied the last slice of pie.

Mary rolled her eyes, "And _why_ do you supposed I tricked Remus into taking me?" she asked with a slow smile on her face.

"His charm, good taste in chocolate and adorable humility?" offered Sirius.

"All good qualities," Mary agreed, "but really, it was just because the guy I _wanted_ to go with was already going with someone else."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "Don't tell me you were using _Remus_ to make some poor bloke jealous?" He seemed to straighten up, very determined to make it seem as if he hadn't fallen prey to that exact trick.

Mary shrugged, "It worked, didn't it?" and with a smirk at the confused look on Sirius's face she leaned over so that their faces were mere breaths apart.

"Didn't it?" she repeated in a softer voice, and Sirius could only nod as she went the extra millimeter to kiss him.

Sirius and Mary might have stayed that way forever; happy despite the forgotten books and quills beneath them. They would have given up food and drink, and easily ignored the passing seasons… but there are some things that you just can't ignore.

"What was that?" Mary pulled back with a jolt. Sirius briefly considered lying and saying that there _had_ been no loud shout of "IDIOT!" from the common room, but he could hear footsteps hammering up the stairs. There was no point trying to distract her.

The dormitory door slammed open and an irate Remus marched in, a glum James in his wake. Peter brought up the rear and he paused before closing the door, noting the closeness of Sirius and Mary's faces, a slow smile taking over his previously disgusted face.

"Wotcher Peter," Mary smirked, causing Sirius to envy her blasé tone and blush a little.

Remus ignored Sirius's blush, an action which truly demonstrated the seriousness of the moment. No marauder _ever_ passed up the opportunity to heckle another for blushing. It was simply not done. This free pass, above all else, drew Sirius's attention.

"Bloody hell," he groaned, "what _did_ Prongsie do now?"

James sighed and flopped down onto his bed, shaking loose a few socks from its end, "I royally bolloxed things up, that's what."

"How?" sighed Mary, not bothering to look at James as she carefully stacked up all the books and parchments that were strewn on Sirius's bed. She looked around for an empty surface to place them on, but found none. All nightstands and dressers were coated with wrappers, quidditch gear, old magazines and (oddly) a large amount of glitter. Instead she levitated the stack of books over to the only square foot of clean floor… she'd have to move them again when she wanted to leave through that doorway, but for now they were fine.

"We were doing rounds," James groaned, tugging at his tie and kicking his shoes off in the general direction of what appeared to be a pile of dirty robes at the end of his bed.

"Sounds pretty routine, harmless," Sirius nodded encouragingly.

Remus shook his head, "Don't bother Padfoot, even you won't be able to spin this one."

"I sense a challenge in that! Challenge accepted!" Sirius threw his fist into the air. Mary looked at the amused smile shared between Remus and Peter and knew that Sirius really should never go any place in which he might be tempted into gambling.

James groaned again, "But we _did _manage fine. Only yelled at one kid, made it all the way back to almost our floor in silence, which isn't ideal but…"

Mary and Sirius shrugged. In their expertise, when it came to Lily and James, silence was always better than yelling.

"And then I decided to break the silence," James sighed heavily, "So I said her name."

Mary leaned forward, waiting for James to add on … anything, but he didn't.

"You just said her name?" she asked incredulously, "James, monosyllabic name-saying is only attractive in the middle of passionate scenes in trashy romance novels."

"I know," James glared over at her, "I was going to say something witty but then, I got nervous. And you know what I do when I get nervous…"

"Wet yourself?" Sirius put in helpfully, earning him another glare from James.

"_No_," James grumbled, "the hair thing."

"_Oh_!" Mary and Sirius exchanged a look, "the hair thing."

"Right," James nodded, pleased that they were following along, "But turns out, the hair thing doesn't bother her that much anymore. And we started… god, we were legitimately _flirting_. And one thing led to another and then she's _right __**here**_." He gestured harshly in the air in front of him to show how little space there had been between him and Lily.

"And her hand," James continued, his own hand unconsciously moving to touch the place where hers had been only a few hours earlier, "her hand was in my hair. And we were _so_ close."

"Oh!" Mary sighed, "Sounds romantic."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "_How_ could even you have messed _that_ up?" he demanded, "You have been dreaming about snogging Evans since we were shorter than Flitwick, and she was _right_ _there_…"

"She asked me why I'm taking Marlene to the ball," James explained dully, swinging his legs off the side of the bed and pulling himself into a ball.

"And you,_ obviously_, replied that you were taking Marlene to make Lily jealous," Sirius assured James, "because anything else would have just backfired in your face."

James didn't reply.

"James…" Mary spoke with trepidation, "_What _did you say to Lily?"

James didn't answer.

"He said," Remus spoke without emotion, he wasn't sure whether he was more amused or irate, and the two combined into an easily feigned nonchalance, "that he is taking Marlene because she is _pretty_."

"No!" Sirius and Mary gasped in unison as Peter slapped his hand over his eyes and slid down the wall he had been leaning against. Even though he'd heard it before, he still felt as though you couldn't just hear of this stupidity and _not_ react.

"Yes," James barely whispered, "It's been my automatic answer since I asked Marlene, it just… came out."

"You _idiot_!" Mary howled, stretching over the gap between Sirius and James's beds to whack the back of the latter's head.

"It gets worse," Peter sighed from where he now sat on the floor, almost disappearing in a pile of quidditch padding.

"_How_ can that possibly get worse?"

"In an attempt to save myself," James sighed, "I said that I wasn't going with Marlene _just _because she is pretty."

"No…" Mary groaned softly, lowering her head to her hands.

Sirius however, looked confused, "Come again?" he asked, "Shouldn't that have made Lily feel better?"

"No you idiot," Mary glared over at him, "Now Lily thinks James has more than just physical reasons to go with McKinnon. She'll be thinking that he actually has _feelings_ for her!"

"Cripes! Really?" Sirius took Mary's answering look to mean that his question had been stupid, and turned back to James, "You really messed this one up, Prongs."

"Really?" James shot back, irritated, "Thanks Padfoot, I hadn't noticed."

"Oi! Don't get all shirty with _me_."

"Boys!" Mary snapped, "Fighting is _not_ going to win any battles with Lily."

"Speaking of Lily…" Remus said slowly, his face gradually regaining its usual color, "You should probably go check on her, Mary."

She raised an eyebrow back at him, "And what? Leave you four to your own devices? _That's_ been going real well."

"It's a Marauders' thing," Peter offered, a sympathetic smile on his face, "You're well… not a Marauder."

"Peter's right," Sirius nodded, "This has nothing to do with you."

"Nothing to do with me?" Mary gaped at him, "Lily is _my_ best friend. I'm your best chance at winning her back!"

Remus shook his head, "You're too close to the situation."

"And _you_ lot aren't? For goodness sakes, James is _one_ of you!"

Sirius offered her a patronizing smile, "Mary, girl, this is man's work. You'll just be in the way."

Mary was seething, "Some offense intended, you guys are _rubbish_ when it comes to girls!"

"Are not!" Sirius responded, glaring at her. He couldn't very well announce about his recent prowess with girls to James; that would lead to awkward questions come the ball.

"Oh yeah?" Mary scooped up her books and parchments with one swoop of her wand, voice dangerously low, "They why on Earth don't _you_ have a girlfriend Black?"

By the time Sirius realized the implications of her words, the door had already slammed behind her.

Mary had spent five of the past six and a half years mad at Sirius Black. She knew all the tricks and games that came along with converting her rage into something more… constructive, like plotting. She had gotten through those five years by plotting revenges on Black. They had been beautiful, perfect schemes that never failed to leave a lasting impression… but that had been back then. Back before the stupid ingrate went and pulled the greatest prank of his life and tricked her into falling for him.

"I should have known it was far too good to be true," she muttered to herself, kicking her dormitory door open with her toe.

One surveying glance around the room told Mary all she needed to know. Her other dorm-mates were absent. Whether they had left in a hurry or not was unclear, but also unimportant. All that mattered to Mary was that the room, at that moment, only contained herself and a tearstained, pacing Lily Evans.

It took Lily a moment to register that anyone else was there; each step required all of her focus; any less and she'd be a puddle of James-inspired tears upon the floor. She hardly wanted to inconvenience the house elves with the necessity of mopping her up.

"I know you think that you can't stop pacing," Mary knew Lily so well, "but, it's okay to cry over him. It's just us here. You and me."

"He doesn't deserve my tears." Lily's voice was tight and small.

Mary shook her head, "I think he might Lils. I think… I think he might be just as hung up over what just happened as you are."

"But it's _his_ bloody fault!" Lily halted, "Mary, he told me that he isn't just going to the ball with Marlene because she's pretty. He has _feelings_ for her! My life is over!" She threw herself into her bed, the picture of teenage angst.

Mary narrowed her eyes as she went to perch on her bed, across from Lily, "It isn't like you to overdramatize things Lil," she pointed out a tad bit sharply.

"It isn't like me to cry over James Potter," Lily retorted, just as sharply, "but here we are."

"Fair enough," Mary sighed, "What _are_ you going to do?"

"I dunno," Lily groaned, rolling over and twisting herself into a ball; hugging her knees tightly.

Biting her lip, Mary weighed the options. If she were to tell Lily exactly what James had said, would it help? Would she be doing the cause a disservice? Or… would she be doing her _friendship_ a disservice if she left this out…

"He loves you!" she blurted out, not sure if she was doing a good thing or a terrible thing, but… adults had been telling her since she was a wee one that honesty was the best policy. It was high-time she tested it out for herself.

Lily blinked, breathed in, and then out, and then snorted, forcing herself to squash the tiny flicker of hope that had swelled upon hearing Mary's announcement. Hope only ever ended in pain.

"Mary," she said deliberately, "I didn't believe that when we were fifteen and he was chasing me around with sonnets and roses. I sure as hell don't believe it now that we're seventeen and he's barely acknowledging my existence."

"But he _does_," Mary insisted, "and you _clearly _love him too. And that's supposed to mean something."

"Then tell me, Mary," Lily demanded, "What does 'I'm not taking her _just_ because she's pretty' mean? 'Cause _that _means something too."

"You're playing the _same_ _game!"_ Mary cried, waving her hands in frustration.

Lily tilted her head slightly, impressing herself with her own calm, "Huh?"

Mary groaned and slid down onto the floor, intentionally banging the back of her head against the mattress as she slid. "You're playing the same game," she repeated softly, intent upon her fingernails, "You're both trying to make the other jealous."

"_What_?" Lily's calm was wavering.

Mary nodded, and continued as if her friend had not spoken, "That's what the just meant. I think he might have told you this himself, but you… stormed off."

Lily slid down to the floor too, nudging Mary's foot with her own, forcing their eyes to meet, "Are you sure?"

"Near positive."

Lily wasn't sure how to feel about this, Mary had known something _so_ important and hadn't said anything, "How do you know all this?"

"Sirius." Mary shrugged, and Lily's eyes lit up. Confusion over whether or not she should be angry was abandoned in light of new meat for gossip.

"_Sirius_?" she gasped with a barely concealed smirk, "He told you Marauder secrets?"

Mary nodded, knowing what was coming and wishing she had any way to avoid it. Lily's ability to switch gears so rapidly was one of those stereotypically 'girl' traits that Mary had obviously missed during development.

"Are you two… _together_ then?" Lily asked, excitement palpable in her voice as she reached over to grasp Mary's knee.

Mary met her beaming face with eyes that were rapidly clouding with tears, "We were," she managed shakily, "for fifteen minutes this afternoon. And then he went and was himself again."\

"Oh Mary…" Lily sighed, sliding over and wrapping an arm around her friend.

"What are we going to _do_ Lils?" Mary asked with a watery sniffle.

Lily bit her lip, and then nodded assertively, "We're going to wait," she said calmly, much, much more calmly than she felt, "We're going to primp and practice. We're going to practice dancing and hair and do our nails. And then, come time, we're going to go to that ball, and we're going to make two boys _so_ very jealous."


	5. Chapter 5

**Jealousy Wears a Green Mask, Chapter 5**

"James, I'm really sorry but… James I would have told you but… James… ack!" Sirius cursed at his reflection and threw the bowtie he was never going to manage to tie properly to the ground.

"What the bloody hell are you doing, Padfoot?" Remus asked, walking into the room with a raised eyebrow, "If I didn't know better I would think you were rehearsing an apology speech for James."

Sirius widened his eyes at his friend and threw a finger to his lips, gesturing with his other hand towards the bathroom. Remus could see, now that he was looking, that the crack beneath the door was spitting light; clearly someone was inside. It only took him a moment to put together the pieces, James must be the one in the bathroom, Sirius must be pretending to rehearse an apology so that James would later think that he had actually fallen for Lily but have been too terrified to tell him…

Remus sighed deeply, he should have just waited in the common room until breakfast. "My head hurts," he groaned, shaking his head at his friend's dramatics, "I can't wait for this ruddy dance to be over."

"I… don't know Remus," Sirius said slowly, keeping up his charade for the boy who may or may not be listening in the bathroom, "Tonight is going to mean a lot of things to me. It could decide the future of my forever."

"That doesn't even make sense," Remus groaned.

"Does love ever?" Sirius replied with a sigh, "I just hope James can forgive me."

At that, the bedraggled eavesdropper sidled back into the room. The way he was wringing his hands and looking shiftily at Sirius made plain that he had, in fact, overheard all of Sirius's acting. Remus rolled his eyes again and pulled his pillow over his face.

"Ten hours," he moaned into the soft fabric, "Ten more hours and this will all be over."

"Right you are Moony," James nodded, pulling a brush futilely through his hair, "But first a hearty breakfast and a nice long double Transfiguration to start the morning off right!"

"You're awfully chipper this morning," Sirius commented drily, "normally we have to drag you out of bed on a Friday morning."

Remus snorted, pulling his pillow down to his chin so that his snort would have the maximum effect. "What is this _'we'_ you speak of sir?" he asked to no reply.

James shrugged at Sirius, ignoring Remus's comment, "It's my last chance to win Lily over before the dance tonight," he explained simply, "I figure if I'm super good in Transfiguration she'll _have_ to talk to me. And if I can just get her to _listen_ long enough for me to explain what a prat I was…"

"James," Remus interjected calmly, "The amount of time it would take you to fully explain your history of prattiness would far surpass the amount of time we have left before the dance."

"He'd be talking till graduation, more like!" Sirius snickered, tugging his tie on straight.

"Oh shove off, you," James glared, shoving his feet into his sneakers and grabbing his bag from where it hung haphazardly off the end of his four-poster bed.

Remus blinked in surprise, "Leaving already Prongs? Breakfast will still be empty."

"I'm not staying at breakfast," James replied, "I'm just grabbing a stack of toast and eating it in the classroom. I want to get their early to get the seat next to Lily's. She always sleeps through breakfast, no point in me wasting my time there. At least this way she'll _have_ to speak to me."

"Uh…" But before either boy could point out any of the flaws in James's plan, the black haired boy had already sauntered out of the room, the door shutting with a neat click behind him.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at Remus, "He does know that Lily can sit somewhere else, right? She's not emotionally attached to her seat or anything like that."

"Sirius," Remus sighed in reply, "If we're being honest, when it comes to Lily does James really know anything?"

"Most things," Sirius replied immediately, "but she does tend to make him lose all of his common sense."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Sirius struggling to untangle his socks from the ball of clothing the house elves had deposited on his bed the previous afternoon, and Remus staring at the canopy of his bed without really seeing it.

"Speaking of males losing their minds over females," Remus said slowly, breaking the silence, "Has Mary forgiven you for being an ass yet?"

Sirius groaned, tugging one sock loose at last, "No. But then, I haven't asked her to forgive me yet."

That comment made Remus sit up and shoot Sirius a bewildered look. "Why the bloody hell not?" he demanded, "You _know_ you messed up royally."

"I know," Sirius sighed, "I've talked to Lily about it."

Remus would have sat up in shock again if he were not already in the sitting position, "_Lily_ is willing to talk to you after that?"

"She has to be," Sirius half-smirked, "She's my date tonight… but she starts every conversation with 'For Mary's sake I'm really mad at you, but…' so I know I'm not in good standing with her."

"Why on Earth haven't you made up with Mary yet?" Remus demanded again.

"Because I need James to believe I'm in love with Lily!" Sirius snapped, "He's hardly likely to be concerned about me going to the dance with Lily if I'm all happily-ever-after with Mary!"

"But…" Remus trailed off, "This wasn't Lily's idea, was it?"

"God no," Sirius laughed heartlessly, "She offered to call the whole thing off, let me go run off and apologize to Mary, but… I don't know Remus, I feel like I owe it to James now. And Lily. And if I make them both happy…"

Remus sighed, "This is absolutely ridiculous. You know that right? Absolutely ridiculous. Lily and James both know that they like each other. Why on Earth don't we just lock them in a closet and force them to admit it!"

Sirius blinked at Remus, "… We have trained you _so_ well Moony. That's exactly what we'll do. We'll have the big dramatic entrance. And the first dance and then, if neither party makes the big move… we'll shove them in a broom closet and be done with it."

"Or we could just shove them in a closet now…" Remus pointed out, though he suspected it was as useless suggestion.

"Or we could do it my way. We did _not_ sit through hours of torture in Gladrags to deprive Lily of a big dramatic dress reveal!" Sirius proclaimed, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he threw his arms wide as though declaring something of extreme importance.

"I knew we should never have taken you to a muggle cinema," Remus sighed, picking up his own bag and slipping on his loafers, "This redefines absurdity, you know that right? Let's go down to breakfast…"

James had been right about Lily sleeping through breakfast, Remus and Sirius ate alone. Mary quite literally dragged Peter into a seat next to her on the opposite end of the table and Remus pointedly ignored his small friend's SOS crumpled napkins that kept hitting him in the face. James had been wrong about securing a seat next to Lily in Transfiguration however. Despite the fact that she ran in late (as usual), Mary had managed to save the seat beside her by some means or another, and Lily sat there instead. James spent most of the period transfiguring items on her desk into hearts and apology notes, and for a while the rest of the class couldn't shake the feeling that they had somehow traveled back in time to fifth year. It therefore felt natural to watch Lily and Mary bolt from the classroom the second the bell rang. The only change from past to present was that now James did not race after them. Instead, he sighed miserably and started to pack up his things, one quill at a time.

Lily and Mary were well versed in the art of patience. They were, after all, the only two girls in their year known to have successfully pranked the Marauders more than once. The waiting game was always their secret weapon. The boys were quick, they were smart, they were sneaky, but they were also antsy, volatile creatures who _hated _waiting. Even Remus, the most even-tempered of souls, could not handle waiting around for _too_ long. So, Lily and Mary, neither of whom had been born patient had learned how to wait and let their prey relax. They knew how to work with their targets' weaknesses in mind; how to play the Marauder's game. They knew exactly how to avoid the boys in the time between their fights and the ball. They knew exactly _how_ to exercise patience and politeness to make to the day of the ball. That did not mean, however, that they liked it.

"Six hours," Lily promised Mary as she slid into the seat opposite her during lunch.

Mary stabbed a lettuce leaf glumly, "Amen to that," she sighed, "Though really, the boys are actually aren't that difficult to avoid."

Lily shot her a surprised look, "Really?" she exclaimed, "It feels like they're being extra persistent,"

"James probably is," Mary acknowledged, no less glumly, "I haven't even _seen_ Sirius since the debacle."

"Oh Mary," Lily bit her lip, "It's probably a bit… complicated for him you know, I mean, he has to pretend to be into me tonight to get James to go for it? James needs to think of him as an actual threat. I almost feel sorry for Sirius; he can't hang in _his_ dormitory. There's nothing he can say to James that won't make James suspicious."

Something in Lily's voice caught Mary's attention. Her head snapped up from its sullen hang, "You've talked to Sirius."

It wasn't so much an accusation as a statement of fact, but it made Lily feel guilty all the same.

"Yeah…" she admitted slowly, "He's my date tonight… I mean, you must've spoken to Remus?"

Mary nodded. A part of her wanted to violently argue that it was _different_ for her to talk to Remus. Lily wasn't in love with Remus after all, but then, Lily wasn't in love with Sirius either. If it weren't for the necessity of talking to Sirius for the prank, Mary was quite sure Lily would be refusing to speak to him out of solidarity to her. However, if it wasn't for the jealousy prank, Mary wouldn't be mad at Sirius in the first place. Probably. There was, of course, the overwhelming chance that he would have found a way to do something _else_ stupid, like ask a girl who was neither Mary nor Lily to the dance.

"My head hurts," Mary groaned, resting the pained thing down on the table beside her plate.

"You might want to see Pomfrey about that then," Remus had arrived, sliding in beside Mary, "Hullo Lily."

"Remus," Lily nodded. She wasn't entirely sure if she was supposed to be mad at Remus, but since he hadn't done anything directly offensive to either her or Mary, she figured he was a safe bet. He had acted like a stupid boy, but if she was mad at every stupid boy in Hogwarts, she would never get a date.

"You girls have your costumes ready?" Remus asked, forking a sandwich off the serving platter and onto his plate.

Lily couldn't help but roll her eyes, "You helped us _buy_ them," she reminded him, a tad bit sharper than necessary.

"True," Peter flopped down next to Lily and splashed some soup into his bowl, "but in the year or so that we've actually been friends, and during those previous years when James basically stalked Lily's every move, we learned some stuff."

"Oh?" Mary raised a disinterested eyebrow at the boys, "Pray tell."

"Simply put, you girls are probably going to skive off all of your afternoon classes to fuss with your hair and nails and accessories. The dresses themselves are only half the costume." The voice made Mary stiffen. Lily looked up and winced in sympathy for her friend as Sirius took the empty seat on the other side of Remus.

"You boys would be disappointed if we _didn't_ skive off and spend the rest of the day getting ready," Mary pointed out drily, "We put in a lot of effort for you lot."

"Besides," Lily hurriedly added before the sour look on Sirius's face could mutate into sour words, "it's technically not '_skiving_' Sirius. I'm Head Girl."

Sirius blinked, "And that, somehow, makes you immune to punishments?"

"Yup," Lily smirked, "Haven't you noticed how James and I basically never get yelled at for being late?"

Remus snorted, "Bet they'll start abusing _that_ soon enough," he muttered to Mary, who snickered to herself and raised her glass of pumpkin juice in silent agreement. Remus in turn picked up his respectable goblet of milk and the two made a silent toast to dreams of a future in which Lily and James spent the first ten minutes of every class in varied broom closets rather than at their desks.

"We'll probably know after tonight," Mary pointed out after taking the requisite post-toast sip.

"Know what?" asked Lily. She had missed Remus's snide comment, having been chastising Sirius for complaining about James's abusing of Head Powers… or more precisely the fact that James had failed to include Sirius in the abuse.

"Nothing," Remus sighed, "Are you ready for tonight Lily?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. I don't know if he'll even slightly believe Sirius and I are going as any more than friends. It's been too…" she shot a look at Mary and seemed to reword her phrase, "Too strained around here to really lay any groundwork. To plant any seeds."

"I dunno…" Peter said slowly, "James is so high-strung right now, I'm pretty sure he'll fall for anything."

"Sad but true," agreed Remus, "Yesterday I told him that the morning's charms lesson was going to be on top of the astronomy tower."

Sirius guffawed, "Is _that_ why he was so late to class?"

Remus nodded, "He waited on top of the tower for twenty minutes before he realized what was going on."

"Nice one Moony!" Sirius nodded, the prankster-gleam in his eye, "Peter is right, James is clearly at a very high level of gullible."

"Gullible comes in levels?" Mary asked snidely.

Lily nodded earnestly, "I'm a level five!" she smirked, ignoring her friend's glare.

"Six." Peter, Remus and Sirius all corrected automatically.

"Oh, shove off," Lily grimaced, slinking a little lower in her seat.

"_Anyway_," Remus started, dragging the group back to the matter at hand, "James is clearly very susceptible to pranking at the moment."

"It'll help that Sirius has been so absent lately too," Peter added thoughtfully.

Remus nodded, "James keeps asking us where you are, Padfoot, and when we don't have good answers… well I think he knows you're up to something he wouldn't like. He hasn't connected your shadiness to Lily, but he'll fall hook line and sinker for an illicit affair if it's presented right."

"Illicit affair," Mary repeated slowly, drawing out the sounds, "sounds like the title to an excellent novel."

"I'll look it up," Lily promised before turning back to Remus and Peter, "You guys really think we can pull this one off?"

They both nodded. "James is already in love with you, and he knows it. He's just acting like a prat," Peter explained calmly.

Sirius nodded, "He's very skilled at acting like a prat."

"Sometimes I don't think he's _acting_," Lily muttered, leading Remus to snort his milk and smother a laugh with his sleeve.

"I wouldn't worry about it Lily," Peter smiled, choosing to ignore the slight on James's character – Peter had decided long before then that, if he couldn't, in good faith, disagree with what Lily or Mary was saying about James or Sirius, then he would just ignore it and pretend as if he hadn't heard it.

"James _is_ mad for you," Peter reiterated.

Lily sighed, "Thanks Peter, it's nice to hear, but I want to hear it from _him_."

Mary sent her friend a sympathetic grimace as she tilted her head slightly to scan the Gryffindor table, "Speaking of James," she said slowly, "where in the devil _is he!"_

Remus shrugged, "Could be anywhere," he replied.

"Probably not throwing himself off a tower though," Sirius smirked, "if that's what's troubling you MacDonald."

Mary glared back at Sirius, "No, Black, I'm just concerned that he won't get to eat before the afternoon classes."

"I thought you weren't _going_ to the afternoon classes?" Sirius retorted at once.

"We're not," Mary snapped back, "but we're not James."

"Clearly you're not," Sirius glared, "or you'd understand when a bloke was serious or joking!"

Lily and Remus exchanged raised eyebrows, intrigued by the sudden change of subject matter.

"Oh, harhar," Mary rose to her feet, briskly brushing crumbs off of her skirt with trembling hands, "I thought that you were _always_ serious."

Sirius clamored to his feet too, crumbs falling off of his trousers of their own accord, "I am," he said slowly, some menace in his voice, "the _only_ one allowed to make Sirius is serious jokes!"

"Oh _really_?" Mary demanded, "Well I don't think _anyone_ should be allowed to make them seeing as you're _never_ serious!"

"That's bull!" Sirius was shouting now, he just didn't get how she couldn't _hear_ what he was telling her.

Mary was shouting too now, hands balled into little fists of rage, "Really now?" her voice dripped acid, "Name one thing you're serious about, besides your hair!"

Neither one of the pair noticed how silent the Great Hall had fallen, or how attentive the entire school was on their argument.

"I'm serious," Sirius's voice had dropped back to its usual level, though in the quiet hall it still echoed, "I'm serious about you."

Eager to test a common theory, Peter yanked a pin out of Lily's hair and dropped it. As he'd always thought, he still couldn't really hear the noise it made when it hit the ground. Remus, who was awkwardly sitting with his back to the couple who had been shouting in the aisle between the tables, wondered if it would be too late to swing around to watch.

"About me?" Mary blinked, her knees suddenly going weak. Sirius automatically put out his arms to steady her, pulling her close.

"I'm an idiot," he said bluntly, "and I don't see that changing anytime soon. But I'm crazy about you Mary, and that's not changing anytime soon either. So unless you have any objections, I'm not going to let you go."

"No objections," Mary answered quickly, "Nope, keep on hanging on." And she pulled him down for a kiss.

"Awww," sighed Lily, as the hall erupted into applause and catcalling. It was Remus who remembered, rather abruptly, that James wasn't in the hall… and that it would be rather ideal if he remained in the dark about this for at least another six hours.

"Sonorus," he whispered, jamming his wand to his throat and jumping up to stand on the bench behind Mary and Sirius.

"Yes, yes," he said to the crowd, "Well done Padfoot. He finally wised up and got the girl. But, the Marauders have a favor to ask everyone here… it's a part of our biggest prank of our careers."

At once all of the other students in the hall fell silent, attention focused upon Remus. It was unusual for him to be the one appealing to the student body for help, but no one gave it too much thought. Marauder pranks were legendary, even the Slytherins were unlikely to mess one up. They would act too superior to help, but Remus was willing to bet that not one of them would go out of their way to hinder a prank either.

"Right, so," Remus bit his lip, not used to so many eyes focused on him, "What we need you to do is simple. Just _don't talk about what just happened_."

He saw all of the confused faces and wondered how best to explain further without ruining the big reveal. The less people knew, he remembered from experience, the less they could accidentally tell others. The less they could accidentally spill, the less James would accidentally find out.

"As happy as we are for Padfoot," Remus explained slowly, "James not knowing that Padfoot finally got his head out of his arse is crucial to what we have planned for tonight. This means that, the less anyone says about what just happened, the better. We trust you all not to go running to Prongs, but… he has ears everywhere. Got it?"

There were noises of ascent, and feeling confident, Remus ended his charm and hopped back down, avoiding McGonagall's half furious, half entertained glare. Behind him the rest of the room had started muttering about what they thought the Marauders might be up to, but he ignored them.

"That," Lily said, raising an eyebrow at Remus, "is the most public speaking I have _ever_ heard you do. You don't even like to give presentations at Prefect Meetings!"

Remus shuddered, reaching for an apple, "I have listened to you lot plot, scheme, and whine for _weeks_. I am not about to let your plot get all fouled up over one grand gesture from Padfoot. No sir, I have put _far_ too much time into this to let it all go to waste."

"Thanks," Lily said with a smile, placing her fork back on her plate.

"Don't mention it," Remus nodded curtly, "Just don't mess this up!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Jealousy Wears a Green Mask; Chapter 6**

Not messing things up was something that Lily had always figured herself to be quite skilled at. She didn't, generally, mess up in her schoolwork, and didn't, generally, mess up her appearance. She did, sometimes, mess up the faces of those who attacked her, but that was a different matter. Her corner of the dormitory might, at first, appear chaotic, but to a trained eye, it was organized. No, Lily Evans was quite skilled at making things go her way, with the blaring recent exception of James Potter.

"But _that,_" she enumerated to Mary as the other girl twirled the last bit of Lily's hair into place, "should be quickly remedied."

Mary, who admittedly was still very much floating on cloud nine, nodded patiently, despite having heard Lily's reassurances that the plan would work more than a few times over the passing hours. This was not her first quidditch match, she knew Lily's pranking habits well and thus was used to hearing the redhead reassure herself over and over again that their plan was a good one. Though undeniably, Mary acknowledged with a grimace, the stakes had never been quite this intense before…

Rather than saying as much, Mary reached for her tube of London Witch lipstick and tried to pull Lily's thoughts from their current spiral, "It's going to be fine Lil', James is at least ten percent more intelligent than Sirius, and even Sirius came around."

Lily smiled up at her friend, "Why yes he did; are you _quite_ sure you don't want to go with Sirius himself? I could go with Remus, James would never have to know that that wasn't my intent all along… We could say that you were just covering for Remus and me…"

"No, no," Mary said, still cheerful but shaking her head, "Firstoff, I have months and months to have Sirius to myself, what's one dance? Second, I put way too much effort into this to go with a second choice man, which leads me to the very unfortunate fact that I doubt James would view Remus as a real threat. Your friendship with Remus is far too established, and he sees you two together all the time. Even as messy as he is, I think James would know that he would've seen something up… plus Remus never lies to them."

"I know… I just hate that I'm the reason that you and Sirius don't get to have a big romantic night…" Lily sighed and stood, pulling out her costume from where it was tucked on her bed, there was only an hour left till they needed to get moving in any case.

Grabbing her dress from its hiding spot atop the canopy of her bed, Mary smiled at Lily, "C'mon Lil! What's a more perfect first date for me and Sirius than the prank of the decade!"

Sighing dramatically, Lily flung her arms wide, "I'm just not sure how you'll ever be able to top it! The best night of your relationship, your first date… oh woe is your future! It's all downhill from here!"

She ducked from the pillow aimed with a beater's precision at her hair.

Across the tower from flying pillows, Remus sat upon a pile of fabrics that had once been his bed and rued the day he had ever decided that James Potter and Sirius Black appeared to be the right sort to befriend.

"I _knew_ we should have cared more about our costumes from the get-go," Sirius was moaning from the center of the dormitory where, much to his chagrin, Peter was playing dress-form to Sirius's attempts at costume design. James, meanwhile, was tossing what appeared to be the entire contents of his wardrobe onto their floor. The house elves were going to go absolutely bonkers.

"Famous quidditch players?" Remus tossed out from his perch, waving his wand to summon Sirius and James' quidditch robes from the heap. Since they had been released early from classes that afternoon he had been throwing ideas out to the room at large and Sirius and James had been taking it in turns to reject them

"We need a _costume_ Remus," Sirius said with derision, "not a reflection of my future."

"Vampires?" offered Peter, not without hope.

"Too common," James groaned, "I need to stand out."

"Werewolves?" the small boy tried again.

"_No_," Remus didn't need to wait for James or Sirius to reject an idea so poor, "What about professors? Or historic wizarding figures?" he tried instead

"We lost a hundred points the last time we dressed up as professors," James reminded Remus dully.

"And if we dress as historic whosiewhatsies, only you and Binns will know who we are," Sirius followed up.

"Four houses of Hogwarts?" It was a longshot, but Remus was tired and disgusted with the entire situation.

"Who here volunteers to be Slytherin?" was Sirius's biting response.

"This is hopeless," James flopped onto the pile of clothes that had formed behind him, "we have nothing. There is no four-person costume waiting for us to discover it in this room."

"So, uh, not to tickle the hippogriff in the room but, maybe we should stop looking for group costumes…"Peter's suggestion trailed off at the furious look on Sirius' face.

"We are _Marauders_ Peter," Sirius barked, "Our group costumes are _legendary_."

"And expected," Remus shot, seizing on the light at the end of the tunnel that Peter had been so generous to point out, "I thought we were working to be unexpected."

Sirius blinked. He had a deep hatred of doing what was expected of him.

"Remus may have a point," James nodded slowly; "We don't have to do _everything_ together after all."

"I…" Sirius sighed, "am outnumbered and tired. Fair enough. Now I'll just have to have the coolest costume around to show you all up."

"Challenge dealt," Remus acknowledged, digging in the pile of clothes beneath him for his wand, "now I just need to find my blue robes…"

As is the way of things, in a fraction of the time that it had taken Lily to paint her nails, Remus, James and Peter were done making their costumes. Peter had donned a black jumper, whitened his face with some powder, slicked back his hair and, with James's careful help, elongated his canine teeth for the evening. The accidental bites he had already given his lower lip with his new teeth made for a perfect vampire look. James had simply changed the colors of his quidditch robes for the night, saying plaintively that they made him feel confident and was learning not to mess with a good thing. Privately Remus thought his choice had more to do with recent comments from female students on how nice James's bum looked in his quidditch robes than it had to do with confidence… though really, he supposed, the two might be one and the same. Remus himself had opted for the classic 'young merlin' look, slapping some silver stars on his threadbare blue robes and transfiguring his quill into a hat to match. Predictably Sirius was dragging his feet.

"Mate, I've _got_ to go set up for this ruddy thing," James groaned plaintively, watching as Sirius changed the color of his pants _again_.

"Aren't the house elves doing that?" Peter asked, wincing as he stabbed himself again.

"They should be, but they can get a little over enthusiastic about things and forget the big picture," James sighed, pausing to cast a protective spell around Peter's teeth, "that should help Wormtail, don't want you biting some girl's face off if you get so lucky as to get near enough."

"Maybe you should go on ahead?" Remus offered, "You know Sirius... but I know you want to check and make sure everything is smooth, and I doubt Lily will go down until her hair and everything is perfect."

"But it already is," James muttered, more to himself than the others, as he stood and tucked his wand into his sleeve, "Alright, any of you care to join me?"

"I'll come," Peter bounced up quickly, "Also, Prongs, don't you uh, have to pick up your date at some point?"

"Blimey," James sighed, "Guess I do…" The two wandered out the door as Peter, candidly, chided James for forgetting he had a date.

Sirius waited until the pair's voices had faded completely before lunging beneath his bed for a quill and parchment, tearing down a note, folding the paper into a little airplane, and passing it to Remus. Remus blinked in response.

"…Thanks?" he replied, more question than statement.

Sirius, who was already back to his costume decisions, waved his hand at his friend, "Send it to Mary for me?"

Comprehension dawned on Remus and he tapped the parchment plane twice, sending it zipping out their open window.

"You couldn't have done that yourself?" he asked incredulously.

"No time," the other boy replied, ripping his trousers at the knees and turning them brown with his wand, "Besides the fact that you're the one who read all those books on note passing when we were third years and you were sick of getting caught out."

"I read those to pass along the information so that we _wouldn't_…" Remus began to remind Sirius, but trailed off when he registered how little the other boy was paying attention. Instead he watched bemusedly as Sirius stripped off his shirt and grabbed for what had always been considered a rather unfortunate vest of Remus's.

"May I ask what on Earth you're doing?" Remus asked fondly, watching as Sirius unceremoniously dowsed his vest with the same color as his pants and threw it on over his bare chest.

"Lily is going as a woodland fairy, or at least the muggle interpretation of it," Sirius replied in lieu of a straight answer.

"Yes, I know, I was there," Remus nodded, "And you're…. going as a male muggle fairy? Sirius Black is dressing as a _fairy_? Is your reputation that solid that you're willing to just throw open the doors and call out for ridicule… for a prank?"

Sirius snorted and ran his hand through his hair, "Remus, look at me, I'm not going as a fairy, I'm going as a barely clad woodland creature. No matter what the Hogwarts men say, the ladies of the castle are going to love me."

"You _do_ know you have a girlfriend, correct?" a voice came from the door, causing Remus to spin around and catch sight of Lily and Mary smirking from the doorframe.

"Ladies," Sirius said with a swooping bow, and straightened abruptly upon catching sight of Mary's costume, "or, uh, Lady and… goddess from heaven above?"

Mary and Lily exchanged a smile before Mary moved to tap Sirius lightly on the cheek, "Prior comment forgiven, but that's Miss Goddess to you."

"Yes ma'am," Sirius responded automatically.

"You both do look very nice," Remus put in. He wasn't exaggerating, though he supposed he would have said they looked very nice regardless of his actual opinions. Lily's woodland dress looked even better than it had in the store, and Mary's secrecy had paid off. She was dressed as a dragon, complete with a little tail and a pair of clip on reptilian ears.

"Thank you, Remus," Lily smiled warmly, "you as well. And Sirius, I do believe we match."

The boy nodded, "I tried to think of every way to irk James… oh! that reminds me," he whirled his wand, producing a flower which he carefully tucked behind Lily's ear, "he's _always_ wanted to tuck a flower behind your ear."

"Really!?" squeaked Lily, annoyed at the way her voice betrayed her but also touched that James had told his friends something so… sweet.

"Mhm," Remus assented, giving himself one last once over in the mirror as he continued, "but not a lily, he thought that that would be too cliché."

"I hate lilies," Lily murmured to herself, eyes trailing over to the mountain of clothing concealing what she knew to be James's bed.

"Alright my lady… ladies," Sirius corrected himself, "I daresay we're reaching the point of fashionably late."

"Indeed," Mary agreed, taking the arm Remus proffered, "and any good audience hates a delay of game."

The foursome migrated down the staircase to the tune of Mary explaining the muggle phrase 'delay of game' to a the pure blood Sirius who's sport of choice did not believe in such things.

"You mean," he said as they entered the common room, "that you really just hold off on a game because of _weather_?"

The common room was mostly empty at this point, with just a few lollygaggers waiting for their dates or for reassurance that the dance was worth it. The sight of the Marauders heading down seemed to encourage the latter group, as Lily couldn't help but notice they had gained a small following. She also couldn't help but hear their concerned mutterings at seeing her on Sirius's arm, and Mary on Remus's. She paused and put up a hand for the others to follow suit, turning to face the gaggle of sixth years behind her, pleased to see that their costumes were nothing short of enthusiastic.

"Look," she sighed at them, "I know you're all in a tizzy after seeing Mary and Sirius at lunch, and now seeing her hanging on Remus and myself on Sirius."

The group exchanged glances but nodded, a bold one even stepped forward and voiced their concern, "Lily it's not that we're not used to you lot doing odd things," the girl said, "just that normally we can kind of follow along… we're a bit lost here."

"It's a prank," Sirius said helpfully, to which the group responded with a set of "well obviously" faces.

"On _James_," Remus clarified, and, after a long moment, the light bulbs clicked.

"Blimey…"

The four left the group behind them, assured that the students could add two and four and spread the word to the others. Remus worried for half a second that this might be considered interference in regards to the great James and Lily, Will They-Won't They, betting pool that the prefects had established, but was distracted by their arrival in the entrance hall.

Someone, probably Filch, he reflected, had shut the doors to the great hall to muffle the noise, but they could still easily make out the sounds of a party in full swing.

"I don't know what Prongs was on about," Sirius commented with sincerity, "they might be weird, but I have no complaints about the talent."

"Right?!" Lily exclaimed, "See, maybe you _are_ a better date than he would've been."

Mary raised an eyebrow and Lily grimaced, "Let me fool myself for a minute, okay? If this all backfires I'm going to die a spinster."

Remus looked over at Sirius, "She _does_ know we're only seventeen, right? And that it's also only October? And that James is mad about her…"

Sirius only hushed him, "Honestly Moony, have you never read a good story, or seen one of those moving pictures Peter kept going on about last summer? This is the big moment, the climax! Who cares if she'll have other chances, we're in the final chapters! If this doesn't work, we'll have to wait for the sequel!"

"_Definitely_ regret taking you to the cinema," Remus sighed.

"No you don't," Sirius replied without losing spirit, "Alright, if we want maximum impact, Remus, Mary, you'd better go in another way."

"Come again?"

"No, seriously," Sirius frowned, "when the doors open, they'll see me and Lily, and it'll be BAM prank. If the doors open and they see you two _with_ me and Lily, it'll be more like, aw sweet, they're all friends in there together… Take the back passageway? The one we used to spike Flitwick's porridge with that hair growth potion? Then wait for the signal."

"I hate it when Sirius is right," Remus said to no one in particular, though he offered his arm to Mary once again.

"I think he's been dipping into my romance novel stash," she said conversationally as she took his arm, "No way he just _knows_ these things about plots and climaxes."

The pair wandered off, ducking into an unmarked archway. Still beside Lily, Sirius whipped out the Marauder's Map from his pocket and offered it to her.

"Milady, care to do the honors?"

Lily smiled fondly at Sirius, knowing he was well aware of her love of watching the ink spiral out on the parchment to form the castle map. Tapping the paper with her wand she whispered the magic words and felt an upswing of happiness at the sight.

"Alright…" Sirius muttered, "let's just see… Ah, there we are… and there's Moony and Mary." They watched as their friends snuck around and entered the Great Hall from the side, joining the throng of dancers and migrating to a place not far from the doors Lily and Sirius stood before.

"You sure about this?" Lily asked Sirius one final time as he undid the map and tucked it away, looping his free arm around Lily's waist, "He is your best friend, I can't promise he won't be furious."

Sirius shrugged, "Best bet he'll be too happy to be mad for days… worst bet… well I'm sure he's let me off on things he should have been furious about before, I'm probably overdue. And besides, he's going to be the laughing stock of the castle in a few moments… _especially_ as the whole student body knows I'm actually mad for Mary and just messing with him."

Lily blinked, trying to follow his logic but meeting instead the irreversible confusion she often felt when attempting to decode Marauder judgment. Hesitantly she asked, "So it's worth it?"

Sirius barked a laugh and nodded, "Alright Evans, ready to make Jamesie believe you're mad for me?"

"Oh Sirius!" Lily took her best stab at a swoon, "How was I able to resist you for so, so long? Jamesie be damned, I must have you and let the whole world know!"

"Knew it was only a matter of time before you succumbed to my charms," Sirius said in his best attempt at a romantically gruff voice. He threw some sparks at the floor, letting them dance beneath the door, hoping Remus had made it close enough to see his cue. Lily, noticing the gesture, nodded and stepped closer.

"Oh Sirius!" she declared again, throwing the back of her hand against her forehead.

"Oh my Lilyflower!" Sirius laughed, channeling what he remembered of one of James's choice rants, and pulled her towards him as if to swoop her back in a romantic kiss. In true Marauder's timing, that was the moment that Remus chose to swing open the double doors to the Great Hall.

For a few long seconds nothing changed, but then, the world stopped.


End file.
